Jade Timms, Golden, Text Publishing, June 2025, 304 pp., RRP $22.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781923058354
Jade Timms’ debut novel Golden is a coming-of-age story that glows with heart and humour. Set against the backdrop of a small Australian coastal town, Golden explores what it means to live with grief while still seeking joy and connection.
At the centre of the novel is Eddie, a thoughtful, quietly artistic teen whose life has been shaped by the death of her brother-in-law three years ago. What happened is not something she talks about, but it lingers in everything: the distance between her and her twin brother, the friends she no longer sees, the way the beach seems to steal her breath.
But then Howl arrives. The new guy at school is everywhere. At her job at Just Juice, in the school’s art studio, even in her home, now that he and her brother have become friends. He’s persistent, and strangely magnetic. And slowly, without meaning to, Eddie finds herself opening up. She also begins training for the town’s annual Mud Run, though she’s not sure why she signed up or what finishing it will prove. Maybe it’s about showing herself she can still move forward, even when grief is trying to hold her still.
Golden is as much about healing as it is about heartbreak. It touches on the fractured nature of grief, how it can split families, isolate friendships, and build invisible walls between people. Yet it also shows how those walls can come down, how people can grow back toward one another. Golden is a tender, affirming read for anyone who has ever felt lost, left behind, or unsure of their place in the world. This is a book about grief, yes—but more than that, it’s about love, art, and letting colour back into your life.
Golden is a heartfelt YA novel recommended for readers aged 14 and up who enjoy coming-of-age stories about grief, friendship and first love.
Reviewed by India Boon
